Garde favourite as Pearson not approached

Former Lyon manager Remi Garde remains the favourite for the Aston Villa job - but Nigel Pearson has not been approached.

It is understood the former Leicester boss has not spoken to Villa over their vacant position.

Pearson was tipped as a leading contender to replace Tim Sherwood, who was sacked on Sunday following Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Swansea.

He guided Leicester to their Great Escape last season, becoming just the third club in Premier League history to survive the drop after being bottom at Christmas.

They won seven of their final nine games to survive but Pearson left the club in the summer and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri after differences with the club's board.

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Garde, who held talks with Newcastle last season, is the front-runner and available after leaving Lyon in 2014 to take a break for personal reasons.

He spent three years in charge at the Stade Gerland and won the Coupe de France in 2012, having previously won the Premier League in 1998 as a player with the Gunners.

David Moyes, currently in charge at Real Sociedad, has also been backed but said last week he wanted to stay in Spain while ex-Villa striker Dwight Yorke has revealed his interest in the job.

Sherwood was axed on Sunday after Villa's sixth straight defeat and they fell to the bottom of the league hours after his dismissal thanks to Sunderland's 3-0 win over Newcastle. Assistant Ray Wilkins, first-team coach Mark Robson and performance analyst Seamus Brady have also left.

Villa's Under-21 boss Kevin MacDonald has been placed in caretaker charge. He is expected to manage the side for tomorrow's Capital One Cup trip to Southampton and could still possibly be in charge for Monday's league game at Tottenham. MacDonald was previously caretaker boss in 2010 after Martin O'Neill quit and was brought back to the club by Sherwood in February.